AIV system

[LA_phantom_240]

What are the symptoms of a malfunctioning AIV system? I hear it come on and off by the way my intake sounds.

I think that may be a major issue in why my car runs like ass at times.

[LA_phantom_240]

So nobody knows anything about the AIV system? Come on.

[los_inc]

empty a can of throttle body cleaner in the AIV HOSE
while the motor is running you can just blip on the gas as
needed so it won't stall
-los

then ride around and see if it clears up

[LA_phantom_240]

Yeah, but for future reference (and so I can relay to my buddy who just picked up an s13 hatch), is there anything I can listen for/disconnect/plug to see if it is functioning correctly? Is there any way I can disconnect it until I swap a manual tranny in and do my header at the same time?

Oh, and can I use seafoam to clean it? I bought a gallon sized can, because I use it a lot... in nearly every tank full of gas.

[aznpoopy]

*while idling, the idle will surge up and down pretty randomly. if its real bad the car may come very close to stalling, or stall completely

otherwise it shouldn't affect the performance of the car at all

[tknbkthrsdy4anfg]

Air injection is purely for emissions, and the air is taken pre-maf so it shouldn't really mess with your idle.
What it does is help light the catalyst faster and also dilute the exhaust.

[aznpoopy]

whoops i was thinking of iacv, not the induction valve

my bad

[tknbkthrsdy4anfg]

whoops i was thinking of iacv, not the induction valve

my bad

You could be right.

[LA_phantom_240]

Well then... it seems like it might not be the AIV.

Okay so this is what the car is doing. At idle I can hear the motor from the intake (because I took off the resonator box), which is pretty normal. At times it sounds like something is opening up and the intake gets louder, which I assume is the AIV feeding the cat. When I take off from a light with light throttle, the car surges and hesitates for a couple seconds, and also sometimes right after it upshifts it will feel like I let off the throttle and a couple seconds later it will come back.
Also, the exhaust stinks like unburnt fuel. It smells like a giant 2.4L lawnmower motor.

I've run seafoam, performed a tuneup, and replaced the o2 sensor to no avail. I noted that the o2 sensor replacement helped my mileage and she runs stronger now, but not like she should.
I'm thinking of checking my TPS, knock sensor, and coolant temp sensor. I would also like to note that it takes an unusual amount of throttle to get the transmission to kick down sometimes.
Any thoughts?